American Fridge Freezer Styles and Features

What are you looking for when it comes to American fridge freezers? Familiarise yourself with some of the different styles and features that are available on the market. By going through some of the key features available for American fridge freezers, you can cut to the chase and expedite the process of shopping for one.

What are the American Fridge Freezer Styles?

There are two styles that we will be looking at: side by side and French door.

Side by Side

The side by side American fridge freezer, also known as double door, is ubiquitous with American fridge freezers. These tend to be two-thirds fridge and one-third freezer. Their layout makes it really easy to organise food by category per shelf. American side by side freezers are the most common, as they are fast becoming the norm in households.

Side by side fridge freezers also tend to have compartments on the door to boost that storage space. This makes it even easier to separate your foods and view everything at once.

With a side by side configuration, you can arrange both your fridge and freezer so that the items you consume most often are at eye-level and within reach.

French Door

French door fridge freezers (also known as the fridge over freezer style) typically feature the freezer as a pull-out drawer below the two opening doors. This is a popular design because it means the entirety of the fridge is at eye level.

Because we use the freezer much less, people don’t tend to mind stooping for a pull-out freezer.  This means the French door’s edge over the double door design is the shape of space you get.

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French Door vs Side by Side

The side by side layout’s biggest benefit is how easy it is to configure and organise. The French door design’s biggest benefit is that its shape allows you to do more things in the kitchen without the stress of rearranging the entire fridge.

However, the French door layout does have its drawbacks. For instance, some people don’t like that in pulling out your freezer, you have to stack items on top of each other, so it’s harder to keep everything neat and organised.

The French door layout definitely has an edge in efficiency. Putting the freezer at the bottom is the most efficient layout for a fridge freezer – they do tend to be more expensive to buy though. Although it might be quite hard to take, price-wise, it could end up paying for itself in lower bills. This means it’s definitely worth checking how much it would save you compared to a side by side American fridge freezer.

French Door American Fridge Freezers:

  • More efficient layout (cheaper to run)
  • Larger design, better for families

Side by Side American Fridge Freezers:

  • Easier to organise
  • Slimmer design for smaller spaces
  • Often cheaper to buy

What Are the Features of an American Fridge Freezer?

Thanks to their size, American style fridge freezers feature the space to incorporate a few cool features. The three that we’ll look at are:

Ice & Water Dispensers

Soda Stream

Wine Coolers

Ice and Water Dispensers

The most common feature you’ll find on an American style fridge freezer these days are ice and water dispensers. An American fridge freezer with water and ice dispenser allows you to have ice and chilled, filtered water available at the push of a button. This feature is great all year round, but particularly so during the summer.

Ice and water dispensers are really easy to hook up to your water supply. Check out our post on fridge freezer installation to find out how. There are non plumbed American fridge freezers as well if you can’t easily access your water pipes from where you plan to put your fridge freezer. These have a tank of water inside that you keep topped up.

Some models will have these built into their units individually as well. If you want one and not the other, you can get an American fridge freezer with water dispenser or vice versa.

SodaStreams

Some American fridge freezers even come with built-in SodaStreams. That means carbonated water on demand and the ability to create your own concoctions. You can even control how carbonated you want it; whether that be a light fizz or a sizzling sparkle.

Samsung RF24HSESBSR - French Style 4 Door Fridge Freezer Ice & Sparkling Water

Wine Coolers

For those that are serious about their vino, built-in wine coolers are the feature you need. Most fridge freezers either don’t have the space for bottles of wine or can only fit a paltry two or three. What about those of us that want at least a dozen chilled bottles of wine ready to go at all times? Okay so this is a bit of a niche feature but it can be really handy for the frequent entertainer.  I’m sure lots of us would like a separate fridge for our wines but this is a happy medium.

A person removing wine from a wine cooler

Those three features tend to be quite universal and are provided by most brands. We’re going to have a little look at some features that are specific to a brand or model.

Instaview

LG have their unique ‘Instaview’ feature that is proving to be a top seller. Check out our LG American Fridge Freezers here.

Essentially, these models have a door within a door. This door opens to another compartment within the unit for all your favourite items. Think of the stuff you most frequently go to the fridge for. You put them in your ‘Instaview’ compartment and with a swift two knocks on the glass this compartment is lit up without opening the door. By reducing how often you open the fridge door, you’ll save energy and less frequently used items will stay fresher for longer.

Family Hub

Samsung have their ‘Family Hub’ feature which might constitute a ‘smart-fridge’. We’re really big fans of this feature and it looks like a glimpse into the future of refrigeration. This model has an integrated multimedia touch screen system. With a 21.5” interface, you can look inside your fridge without opening it and you can search for recipes using voice commands. You can browse our Samsung American Fridge Freezers for yourself here.

With its family planner and calendar functions you can display lists, pictures and drawings. It even plays music and has TV Mirroring, so you can grab a bite and not miss anything. You don’t have to compromise on functionality either, since this model has a water and ice dispenser, a really sleek design, and bags of storage space. Perfect for the busy, modern family.

Now that you are more familiar with the features and styles of American fridge freezers, you can shop to your needs and get the most out of your purchase! Take a look at our full range of American fridge freezers here. In our Refrigeration section, you’ll find awesome selections of American fridge freezers from the likes of Smeg, AEG and Samsung. With fridges, wine coolers and other sections to browse like Laundry, Extraction and Small Appliances.